dead Jindo soliloquy

Daniel Paul Marshall

i hope Tim Miller at wordandsilence doesn’t mind that i quote his long poem To the House of the Sun in a sonnet about a dead Jindo?

Dead Jindo Soliloquy

Maggots dripping from its black
mouth like molten Bramley oozing from a split in pastry.
A white hire car likely hit it: 99% more traffic
accidents in 2016— this poor Jindo won’t make
statistic. Maggots waste not want not. i turn to my
dog & say, this body too will look like that
it is not exempt from that fate
i quote from scripture: Miller, HOS, Book 24:1.
She’s ill at ease, her eyes & tail tell all.

The corpse has many lessons, wants so little,
gives flesh & sinew to the dust or hungry animals,
its stiff tongue never argues, only lolls
in mockery of fretting that the living deal

—the breathlessly anxious are the joke of the…

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Posted by:danielpaulmarshall

After living in Korea for shy a decade, I find myself back in England, penalized for my turned back, awaiting a move to Exeter, where I will study an MA in English, with focus on environmental studies. These days I am reading inveterately, owing to my no longer living without the means to buy books & books & books. My reading interest lie in contemporary philosophy, ecology, ecological philosophy, object orientated ontology & speculative realism. These ideas are leaching into my poetry & essays.

14 thoughts on “dead Jindo soliloquy”

pseudonymous says:

2017-03-20 at 16:02

Utterly rancid yet lovable all the same

Reply
1. danielpaulmarshall says:
  
  2017-03-20 at 16:07
  
  There are lessons from the dead. The simile to the maggots in the second line speaks volumes.
  
  Reply
  1. pseudonymous says:
    
    2017-03-20 at 16:10
    
    You can’t trust a person that steps on a grave, I agree
  2. danielpaulmarshall says:
    
    2017-03-20 at 16:13
    
    No & to something, a dead dog looks delicious, even if they aren’t conscious.
  3. pseudonymous says:
    
    2017-03-20 at 16:18
    
    Isn’t a dead dog looking delicious a primary indicator of conscious activity said the maggot
  4. danielpaulmarshall says:
    
    2017-03-20 at 16:20
    
    Well, i suppose you got me there. Not an apperceptive maggot but nevertheless it sort of chose to be there. I doff my hat to you.
  5. pseudonymous says:
    
    2017-03-20 at 16:21
    
    And I doff my beanie in return. Really though I liked this one a lot. I should check out Tim’s.
  6. danielpaulmarshall says:
    
    2017-03-20 at 16:23
    
    Tim’s book is a monster but crammed full of wisdom as it is composed of 1000s of years of wisdom. If you get the book & see it, & read it, you’ll know why i refer to it as “scripture”.
finnegandaley says:

2017-03-22 at 12:29

“The corpse has many lessons…” So true.

Reply
1. danielpaulmarshall says:
  
  2017-03-22 at 12:46
  
  I thought the dark interior of your mind might like that, which appearing dark is actually quite an enlightened position.
  
  Reply
Bonsai says:

2017-03-26 at 10:05

I want to write a poem like this. I saw a huge dead carp today on the rain soaked beach. That should have inspired me! Every time I walk the beach in the rain I notice dead things. Bits of things washed up in a recent rebellion.

Reply
1. danielpaulmarshall says:
  
  2017-03-26 at 12:13
  
  You absolutely should. i don’t know what i’d write about if not for sea junk & dead stuff to get me kick started. i see it as a sort of alchemy to turn base themes into something as necessary as poetry.
  You could do a sort of homage parody to the dead Jindo, haha, not that death is a laughing matter.
  
  Reply
Tim Miller says:

2017-04-01 at 05:44

Lolz thanks Danny Boy, I hope Buddha don’t mind I stole from him for that great line; credit given in the HOS notes at least. Poor dog. Great pic too.

Reply
1. danielpaulmarshall says:
  
  2017-04-01 at 06:33
  
  We best both watch the sky for his levins.
  
  Reply